Reflections on German election night

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As was widely expected, Angela Merkel was re-elected to a fourth term as German chancellor on Sunday , but I am currently very saddened and  repulsed by the shocking gains of  the far right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD)  who won 13 percent of the vote which could see them securing 88 seats in the Bunbdestag. Which will be the first time chillingly that a far right, neo Nazi party has succeeded in getting into Germany's parliament in half a century. a really surprise result for a far-right party frequently accused of harboring Nazi revivalist ambitions. During the election campaign, the party's leading candidates said that Germans should show pride in its war veterans, including those who fought for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich  and claimed that terror is grounded in the Muslim religion.
The AfD  which was only founded in 2013 as a party against Germany's use of the 19-nation euro currency rather than the mark and the country's actions in bailing out Greece during the euro crisis. But the party quickly shifted to a nationalist, anti-immigration platform after Merkel's open-door policy was announced.This party's staunch anti-Islamic rhetoric seems to have appealed to pockets of voters who feared that at an influx of muslim refugees could shake the foundations of German society.
The vote has since  subsequently been celebrated by France's fascist Marie Le Pen ,"Bravo from our allies from AFd  for this historic score." she tweeted. It is a  a chilling reminder of the right wing, racist populism  that has won electoral success from France and Germany to Donald Trump's victory in the US.
Outside AfD's election party in Berlin after the results were announced thousands of protestors shouted "All Berlin hates the AfD" "Nazi pigs"  and other slogans. Major Jewish groups have also expressed dismay , with the World Jewish congress, calling the party " a disgraceful reactionary movement that recalls the worst of Germany's past."
Germany's  political situation  like the rest of the world , reveals a deeply disturbing  mirror of the times that we currently live in, I sincerely hope that the forces of anti-Semitism, fascism, racism and xenophobia will continue to be challenged and countered, wherever these  ugly ideas are revealed, this right wing extremism must not be allowed to grow,  must  not be allowed to triumph , as they fan the flames of fear, and must continually be resisted. Lets continue to show our humanity and promote and grant safe haven to people fleeing war and misery. Don't sit on the fence when fascism continues to rise.

Abstract

Thoughts are drunk on lemonade
the well is deep, as time drifts,
freedom to reminisce, words to spin
sorting and processing
musings whirl out the door,
another day breeches
dragging visions, as leaves fall,
the river is high, so am I
every layer has a different meaning,
I have no reason to be afraid
I have seen how light flickers,
from the eyes of springtime
the eyes of summer, the eyes of autumn
to the eyes of winter; laughter sizzling,
the ebb and flow of memory
richoceting from every direction,
revolving doors of feeling
trickling through skin and bone.


PICTURE by Keith Garrow.

The Good Goddess: Happy Autumn Equinox / Gwyl canol Hydref

(Thank you Paul, blessed be)

In the husk of life, among it's hardships
Day and night, at least in balance,
Halfway between Lammas and Samhein
As colored leaves  fall in abundance,
We honour the Dark as well as the light
The difficult as well as the easy,
Through shadows of darkness
The good goddess returns,
Breaking through autumns window
To sanctify desires, help fear dissipate,
Existing in the form of time and space
Immortal protector of the human race,
Scattering seeds where dreams sprout
Mortals accept  magic into heart,
Journeying on to the chill of winter
Catching nature's loving embrace,
Bidding farewell to long days of light
We return bright blessings and rejoice.

Morrissey - Spent the Day in Bed

Morrissey returns with a gloriously pro-idle single called “Spent the Day in Bed” it's classic Moz  and includes such subversive lines as “I spent the day in bed, as the workers stay enslaved”, “no bus, no boss, no rain no train” and “stop watching the news!” It's a delightful return to form, a typical blend of melody and the morose as he puts a big middle finger up to the establishment and reflects on the horrors of the modern world presented by the media – choosing to remain in bed rather than get involved. "And I Recommend that you stop watching the news because the news contrives to frighten you , to make you feel small and alone , to make you feel your mind isn't your own."he track is taken from his first new new studio album in three years called Low in high school.
Elsewhere Morrissey has finally taken to social media and has opened up a 'Twitter account. His first post ? " Spent the day in bed." Of course!!

In a troubled world : Some respite

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

As seasons change, with loss and time, some words simply released, from  jotted down thoughts, on different pieces of paper, somehow freestyled, pieced back together.Beyond the pain of humanity and  the sadness of separation, melodies  lift, I hear hope as an echo, where humanity dances, leaving nothing but wonder. .Among times drifting clouds, respite continues, some  moments or two of peace and quiet ,to share. To allow thoughts to keep moving on, walking through gardens of truth , with reason and passion.
Lets water the seeds of liberty, as  stars above shine, into all our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows, every single second of  our steps draws us ever closer still . Overcoming days  hollow woes, seizing magic, while it glows, beyond fears containment, the laughing smile comes back and dreams live on.

End indefinite Detention

Immigration detention centres are officially called Immigration Removal Centres, as their stated purpose is to hold people who the government intends to deport from the UK. Around half of people in immigration detention are asylum seekers, and many have family ties in the UK. Over 30,000 migrants are detained in the UK every year.
There are, at present, 11 detention centres in the UK. (This figure includes Short Term Holding Facilities.) Some are run by private security companies, others by the Prison Service. People in detention cannot leave and have very limited freedom of movement within the centres. Security levels are similar to prisons
People are detained for a very long time by the UK Border Agency when they cannot return to countries like Zimbabwe or Somalia because they are too dangerous. Others cannot be deported because they do not have a passport and their Embassy refuses  to allow them to return. People are not able to leave Britain but instead of being released, they are kept in detention indefinitely.
Most people find long-term detention intensely traumatic. Not knowing when you will be free is damaging to mental health. People who have been tortured or imprisoned in their home countries are particularly scarred by long-term detention.
Indefinite immigration detention is arbitrary from beginning to end. A person doesn’t know when they will be detained; and when they are picked up, they won’t know where they are being taken. Very often, the only belongings they will be allowed to take with them are the clothes they stand up in. Likewise, they won’t know when, or how, their detention will end. Durations vary, and detention might be only a matter of weeks, but it could just as well be months or years, the whole point being that the person detained doesn’t know. This isn't for committing a crime. It's purely because their applications to be in Britain have been refused, or are still being processed.
The UK is the only country in Europe which locks asylum seekers up indefinitely.How would you feel if you had to flee your home for fear of persecution, risked everything to travel to another country in the hope of safety, only to arrive and be detained, often without explanation or any indication of when you at be released? Would you not agree with me that it would be a completely  dehumanising experience.Alternatives to detention are cheaper, more effective and avoid the harm of detention.  States that have tried working with migrants in the community to resolve their cases have found that most comply with immigration requirements, for a fraction of the cost of detention.
Please sign the below petition from the Green Party of England and Wales to demand an end to this cruel, unnecessary practice!
https://action.greenparty.org.uk/detention

Diolch yn fawr BBC

Diolch yn fawr BBC  Cymru ,"No drones over Gaza!" was chanted by  protesters from Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire at the  drones testing airfield, known as Parc Aberporth .
Based in the city of Haifa, Elbit produces military and civilian-use equipment, including drones, aircraft, weapon control systems, and artillery. The company's customers include the Israeli army, US Air Force, and the British Royal Air Force.
Operations at the Elbit owned drone factory at Shenstone near Birmingham was shut for two complete days  as protestors called for the closure of the factory and for a complete embargo on arms sales between Israel and the UK. On Thursday 6th July over a hundred people had gathered at the factory and took part in a number of activities to remember the thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Names of those killed, written on hundreds of strips of material,were tied to the fence surrounding the factory and the top of the fence was festooned with Palestinian flags. Small cardboard coffins, each with a photograph and name of a child killed in Gaza, were laid across both entrances to the factory. Palestinians at the protest reminded people that each of the people killed by an Israeli drone is a person, with a name, an age, a family and a story of their life.
On Friday 7th July activists returned once more to the factory, where the Palestinian flags and ribbons of names of those killed continued to surround the factory. All three entrances to the factory were blocked, forcing its closure for a 2nd day. Five protestors were subsequently arrested but as they were taken away the names of those killed in Gaza were still fluttering from the fence and 50 or so flags were flying defiantly. The protesters believed that the factory is complicit in illegal activity and that they were preventing a crime,"

The chanting  in Aberporth was heard loud and clear in the background as Bethan Williams of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (pictured below on far right) spoke to BBC Wales reporter Matt Murray who happened to be there in connection with the Telegraph report about the two drones that had crashed into the sea off Aberporth http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/army-grounds-1bn-drone-fleet-…/. Bethan's excellent clear, cogent interview was broadcast on Radio Cymru's "Post Prynhawn": http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b094hx7h#play. @ 37.41 The references to the drones' impact over Gaza were not edited out of Bethan's interview the way they were from the other interview with my comrade Harry Rogers. Harry of Bro Emlyn Peace and Justice and  also of the Drones Campaign Network Cymru  (far left in photo above waving Palestinian flag )  in a greatly shortened interview, omitted any mention of Gaza, but was at least broadcast in the evening news on BBC Wales http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/bbc-wales-today-evening-news-13092017 @ 6:45
And well done to Elizabeth Morley for coming up with the idea for us to go to Aberporth.. Incidentally I try not to smile for camera on occasions like this. But charges  were dropped against 3 defendants. The trial of the remaining 2 will be on 24 November. Palestine will be free.